I'm in the process of moving to NZ from Hood River/ The Gorge for a job. I will be in Hamilton. I'm looking for info on kite spots that are fairly close by. When does the kite season start and end? We have big winds in the Gorge so my quiver ranges from 4-10m, do I need a larger kite? Will I ever need the 4m in that part of the world? Basically what is the average quiver range/size?

I was planing on shipping my gear cargo, but if the season is on in November, maybe I don't want to wait........I'm sure I will be busy settling in the first 3-4 weeks while my stuff is shipped over.

Any kiters live in Hamilton???

I look forward to learning all about the Kiwi life style that I've heard so much about. Really excited to have this opportunity.

Your closest spot from hamilton is to the west Raglan. The the home of the ozone design team. 45 mins drive. They have some 300 days of kitable wind in raglan due to the "magic carpet" which is tide against wind out of the river mouth. I'm not sure if theres any kiting on small lakes in or around hamilton. if there is it would be gusty shitty wind.

Or you can head east to the bay of blenty theres tones of beaches there. Its about an hour or so drive. Auckland has wind and beaches in every direction thats an couple of hours away. If you want some of the best wave/wind combo in the southern hemisphere come and see me in Taranaki.

I'm 82kg and my most used kite is a 10m. my quiver is 15m to 6m. There is only a couple of storm days per year where i can't kite because i dont have a smaller kite. so no you don't need a 4. But do get a bigger kite for the balmy sea brease days.

Hey Buddy welcome to nz. i moved here from the uk 10 years ago and have been kiting here ever since. we are based in tauranga, about 1 hours drive from hamilton but near you is a place called raglan, the good thing is that they boast some 300 odd days kiting per year !! the guys up there will give you more info but they have a great kite scene up there and raglan has a wonderfull chilled out vibe to the place. the reason for the high number of days per year is the magic carpet ride !! the tide races in and out of the channel at a high rate of knots so with very little wind in the right direction your away just be carefull on outgoing tide in light winds as you may end up swept out but always people there to help and boats always passing through. as for kite size unlikely you will ever find use for a four meter here unless your only 30 kgs !! big kites can be the order of the day i reckon but hopefully someone will jump in and advise you better from ragalan area. sorry also raglan is your closest bet from hamilton about a 35min to 45 min drive . hey and the good thing is there are so many other places in nz to visit, you should call in to tauranga one weekend we have a great scene here with beautifull beaches an awesome sea breezes from jan onwards. under normal conditions westerly winds dominate till nov december so should work well for you. anyway all thee best and suck up all that nz has to offer its a cool place to be

I am an hour south of Hamilton. There are heaps of kiters living around Hamilton and Raglan.Raglan is only 35 minutes from Hamilton if you get a good run. Ozone have based themselves there for a reason. There is a world-class left hand point break as well, if you are a surfer. Paragliding is good too on the sea breeze. We don't want the place to get too popular though. It's not as windy as the Gorge but 30+ knots are not uncommon. At 70kg, I use a 6m maybe 10 times a year and I am usually limited to weekends and the odd sneak away from work. If you are small and ride a surfboard there are days when you might get to use a 4m. Tauranga is a shade under 1½ hours east of Hamilton. The cool thing about northern NZ is that we have two different coasts and oceans to choose from. There is lots of space to spread out too, so beaches seldom gets busy. My biggest problem is finding someone to kite with on the really windy days. My dream setup would be Hood River June-September, and the rest of the year in Raglan.

jeezuz - google huh.., got in a bit of trouble in nz doing their thing with regards to privacy... - yes it is

Be a bit warmer than mountain river water hopefully in nz. I doubt their are many kiters in Hamilton, but you are 1/2 way between 2 awesome oceans as said.. Wind mostly westerly, but a lot of easterly too, sometimes moderate, sometimes absolutely nuclear, mostly gusty, sometimes steady as a rock, sometimes cold , sometimes warm, mostly west coast huuuge swells, usuallly east coast small swell - then hugemungous for cyclone swells in summer. Wind of some sort all year round which is a bit different to many other places around the world. Avoid June, July, August, Sept unless you are into hardcore little bit cold huuge swell and some high wind. Bring all toys - snowboard, kites, surfboard, sup, mountainbike... that way always something to do and you can have huge dilemmas like I do as to what is best to do on the day. Enjoy!

A 6m, 8m, 10m and 12m should cover it for average weight, have some lighter friends that get out of 4m Cabrinhas sometimes, but not too often.

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